Friday Movie Roundup: Digital Revolution Edition

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Once upon a time people
would go to grandiose, darkened theaters to watch images projected on
large screens via illuminated strips of film.

Those days are all but
over.

Initially altered by the
late-’70s advent of platter projection — not to mention that
same era's movie-magic-eroding advent of cable TV and home-video
players — film culture is now going through a sea change as
theaters of every stripe move to digital projection, a turnabout that
has had more of an impact than might meet the eye.

While technological
advances have made it cheaper and easier to procure and project
movies, the result is often a compromised, less satisfying moviegoing
experience. Actual humans are no longer needed to present a movies —
old-school projectionists are being replaced by “manjectionists”
who essentially push a button to start a movie and then leave the
booth — which means vital and relatively simple issues like correct
focus, ideal illumination, damaged screens and more are no longer
attended to as diligently.

Worse, most audiences
don't seem to know and/or care. Decades of mediocre multiplex viewing
have lowered our collective expectations — both in terms of
the technical aspects of the moviegoing experience and the quality of
films being made by Hollywood and beyond.

The situation is
complicated further when one injects the radically changing context
in which we now watch movies. When one's home-viewing experience, via
big-screen HD TVs and booming stereo sound-systems, often exceeds the
theatrical experience, it's hard to blame audiences for their lowered
expectations and changing viewing habits. Throw in those who are
content to watch movies on tiny hand-held devices from cellphones to
iPods, and there's no going back.

Some distributors, like
Magnolia and IFC, have decided to join the revolution rather than
fight it. Quentin
Dupieux's Rubber, an intriguing horror satire
Steven Rosen reviews here, is simultaneously being distributed by
Magnolia in theaters and via video on demand (locally through Time
Warner Cable).

Unfortunately for
old-school film geeks like me who prefer the communal theatrical
experience to the far less immersive and sensory-stimulating
small-format options, Cincinnatians don't have a choice — our
local art houses, which most often would host the indie films
proffered by Magnolia and IFC, have a policy of not booking films
available simultaneously made available via video on demand.

Making matters more
damning is that I don't have Time Warner Cable, which means I can't
watch Rubber
unless I go to a friend's house that does. DirectTV nor Netflix, my
providers of choice (for now), apparently don't have contracts with
Magnolia or IFC, the latter of which is offering the best array of
indie films (from Carlos
to White Material)
that will not be coming to a theater or television screen near me.)

TRUST
— David Schwimmer's
sophomore effort as a director is a tour de force of socially
relevant dramatic filmmaking. Clearly a labor of love for Schwimmer
and his outstanding ensemble, Trust
comes at you from all angles. Gifted newcomer Liana Liberato's
performance as 14-year-old Annie Cameron is nothing short of
astonishing. (Read full review here.) (Opens
today at Esquire Theatre.)
— Cole
Smithey (Rated R.)
Grade: A

TYLER
PERRY'S MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILY — The busiest man in
movies — well, besides Woody Allen, who should really think
about slowing down — is at it again with this adaptation of his own
stage play in which Madea (Perry) interacts with his/her “big happy
family.” The cast for Perry's 11th(!) feature film includes Bow
Wow, Loretta Divine, Cassi Davis and Shannon Kane. (Opens
wide today.) — JG
(Rated PG-13.) Review coming soon.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS — Sara Gruen's best-selling novel gets
the big-screen treatment courtesy of director Francis Lawrence (I
Am Legend), screenwriter Richard LaGravenese (The
Fisher King, Living
Out Loud) ace cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Amores
Perros, Brokeback
Mountain) and a cast that includes Reese Witherspoon,
Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz, Hal Holbrook and Paul Schnieder.
The Depression-era story concerns a veterinary student (Pattinson)
who, after his parents are killed, abandons his studies to join a
circus where he meets a beautiful equestrian star (Witherspoon) and
an elephant named Rosie. Fox 2000 Pictures has decided not to screen
this in advance for critics, which is a mighty curious move for such
a high-profile project. (Opens
wide today.) — JG
(Rated PG-13.) Review coming soon.